Bringing Up Memories
by tuna-booboo
Summary: Jesse is upset by the evening news, and the memories of a past family. See how it all ends. Chapters 5, 6, and 7 are up.
1. The Evening News

** Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters depicted in the CBS television show "_Diagnosis Murder_." They were someone else's idea. I did, however, make up Maggie Montgomery, Carley Travis, Dr. Nick Murphy, Dr. Annie Johnson, Dr. Ian Ritodowski and Paige Sullivan.  
  
** Summary:** The gang is at the beach house watching the news, when it is announced that a man is being released from prison after serving a seven year sentence. The news makes Jesse very angry. Mark, Steve, Susan, and Amanda try to find out why Jesse is so upset.  
  
**Bringing Up Memories**  
**Chapter 1-** The Evening News  
  
"Doctor Travis, please report to the E.R., Doctor Travis to the E.R."  
  
As his name blared over the loudspeaker, Jesse put his pen away. He had just finished prescribing Jerry Fulton antibiotics to clear up his poison ivy. Jesse went down to the first floor, to discover that the E.R. was filling up with patients. Five hours later he had treated three broken bones, four cases of influenza, three gunshot wounds, and given out 762 stitches.  
  
The weather didn't help, either. It was one of those days when you just feel like crawling back into your bed. It was raining, with scattered thunderstorms occurring throughout the day. Even when he did get a chance to glance out of a window, Jesse just felt depressed.  
  
Jesse glanced at his watch. Finally his shift was over. He was looking forward to a long weekend. He trudged down the hall to the locker room and changed out of his blood-splattered scrubs. In the doctor's lounge, his wife, Susan was waiting for him.  
  
"Bad day?" she asked. He nodded and sighed as he sank into a chair. Susan handed him a Styrofoam cup of coffee. "Are you still up to having dinner at Dr. Sloan's?"  
  
"Yeah, I think I'll be fine if we don't stay too late. I don't have to work tomorrow, and I am sleeping in," he said.  
  
"What about BBQ Bob's?" Susan asked. Jesse groaned. It was his weekend to work at the restaurant. So much for sleeping in. Maybe Steve could be persuaded to switch...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  
  
"That was wonderful, Dr. Sloan," Susan said as she helped him carry the dishes into the kitchen. They placed them on the counter and went to join Amanda, Jesse, and Steve, who were watching the news.  
  
"And that's the latest on your KCDM weather report, and here's Sparky Stevens at the news desk."  
  
"Thank you, Rob. Now turning to our latest news, Dr. Ian Ritodowski received parole today, after serving a seven–year sentence for allegedly killing a young medical student and her three-year-old daughter. Yesterday a briefcase was left in front of city hall, shedding a new light on the case. The evidence in this briefcase has not been disclosed to the public, but it has given reasonable doubt to Ritodowski's guilt."  
  
"Why are they letting a creep like that out of jail?" Jesse said standing up. "He should spend the rest of his life behind those bars. In fact, he should be on death row, counting the days until his lethal injection." He fished a business card out of his wallet and started dialing the number into his cell phone.  
  
"Who are you calling?" Steve asked.  
  
"My lawyer," Jesse said as he went out to the deck to talk.  
  
"What is that all about?" Amanda asked.  
  
"I don't know," Susan said, "But it sounds like he knows something that we don't."  
  
"It sure does," Mark added. "I'll get my laptop. What was that prisoner's name again?" Mark typed Ritodowski's name into the search engine, and came up with a case, The People vs. Dr. Ian Ritodowski. He was about to read it when they heard Jesse coming. Mark quickly minimized the window as he walked back in.  
  
"There's not a thing that I can do. Ritodowski is going free tomorrow at noon," he fumed. Susan came and set her hand on his arm.  
  
"What did he do to you that you want him in jail so badly?" she asked soothingly.  
  
"He killed Maggie," Jesse answered quietly. Then he grabbed his keys and headed out into the rain. While Steve got the keys to his truck, Susan turned back to the computer and shut it down.  
  
"I think that whatever Ritodowski did to Jesse, he's the one we need to hear it from," she said. Mark agreed, and he and Amanda grabbed their coats as well as Jesse's.


	2. Who is Maggie?

**Disclaimer-** See chapter 1.  
  
**Bringing Up Memories  
  
Chapter 2-** Who is Maggie?  
  
Jesse drove over to the bank where he held a safety deposit box. Although they were about to close, Jesse talked them into letting him in. His friends waited in a parking lot across the street, and saw him come out with a key. They followed him to a place called "Big Joe's Storage Units, Inc."

Jesse drove down row B to the fifth shed and stopped his car. He opened the door, and went to a cardboard box. As he pulled it off of a shelf, the sky opened up and it began to pour. Jesse took a small dress out of the box and held it to his chest. He looked around unit and found a box labeled "Maggie's Letters." In this box Jesse found her diary. He loaded several boxes into the trunk and back seat of his car.

"Who is she?" Susan asked, startling Jesse. As he stood there with the rain streaming down his face, he started sobbing. He was crying too hard to speak so Susan helped him get in the car, and she drove him back to the beach house.

-

Jesse sat on the couch in Mark's living room wearing an old sweat suit of Steve's, and wrapped in a blanket. Susan was sitting next to him, trying to comfort him. His sobs had died down, but tears were still streaming down his face. 

At his request, Steve and Amanda carried in the boxes that Jesse had put in his car, while Mark made fresh coffee to warm him up. After he calmed down and his teeth had stopped chattering, Jesse fished through a box marked "Photo Albums," and pulled out a book covered with dark blue material. Gold stars were stenciled around the border, and the words "Maggie: 1986-1990" were inscribed across the front. Jesse opened the book and everyone leaned in to see. The first page held an enlarged photograph of Jesse with five other students. It must have been from the beginning of his medical schooling, because each smiling person had a stethoscope over their shoulders, and they wore lab coats with the words "Future Doctor" embroidered above the breast pocket. Each one of the people had signed their names on the photograph: Nick, Annie, Ian, Paige, Jesse, and Maggie. She was a smiling woman with wavy red hair and green eyes.

"Maggie was my wife..."


	3. The Past

**Disclaimer-** See chapter 1.  
  
**Bringing Up Memories  
  
Chapter 3-** The Past  
  
_ Jesse stood looking around the cafeteria, trying to find an empty table that he could eat and study at. It was his first day of medical school and he had dedicated himself to being the best doctor that he could possibly be. Maybe then his mother would be pleased.  
  
"Hey, Travis!" a voice called. Jesse looked over to see where the voice had come from and he saw a table full of kids that he recognized from one of his classes. The one who called him, Ian Ritodowski, had been his partner in a "getting to know each other" exercise that had been thought up by one of their professors. "Come sit over here."  
  
Jesse walked over and Ian introduced him to the other four people at the table: Nick Murphy, Annie Johnson, Paige Sullivan, and Maggie Montgomery.  
  
"It was cruel to give us a pop quiz on the first day of class," Nick complained, nodding towards a paper with lots of red marks on it.  
  
"I think it was smart. Now when this course is over we can look back to see how much we've learned." Jesse said.  
  
"I agree," Maggie said, flashing Jesse a tooth-paste ad smile. She was the shiest one of the bunch. She was reluctant to share her thoughts, but anyone who evaluated the progress of her medical skills could tell that she was going to be an amazing doctor. Jesse was fascinated with this girl who could argue the points of a discussion for hours in class, but was almost always silent otherwise.  
  
One afternoon Jesse found himself walking to class beside Maggie. He looked over at her and she smiled.  
  
"Maggie, I was wondering if, maybe, you'd like to go out for dinner sometime," Jesse said, looking at his shoes. Maggie didn't answer right away, so Jesse looked up at her. She was giving him another smile.  
  
"I would love to, Jesse," she said. He returned her smile, and stepped aside, holding the classroom door open for her.  
  
Later that evening, Jesse stood outside the door to Maggie and Annie's apartment. He rang the doorbell, and Annie answered, wearing sweatpants and an old t-shirt. "Oh, I thought you were the pizza guy," she said with a grin. Then she turned and shouted for Maggie.  
  
"I'll be right there," Maggie said from a bedroom.  
  
"She'll be right here," Annie said, turning back to Jesse and pointing him towards the couch. He sat down and looked around. A photograph above the desk immediately caught his attention, probably because Jesse had the same picture hanging above his own desk. It was a picture of him, Ian, Nick, Annie, Paige, and Maggie, all wearing lab coats embroidered with the phrase "Future M.D." Behind them was a banner drawn on toilet paper with a Sharpie marker, which read "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize." Jesse smiled as he remembered that evening.  
  
A few minutes later, Maggie came out. She was wearing a black dress, and her hair was flowing freely down her back. Jesse had never seen it that way, as Maggie always tied it back for class. And she had removed her glasses, replacing them with contacts.  
  
"Hi," she said with a smile.  
  
"Hi," Jesse returned, handing her a bouquet of flowers. This was just the first of many dates.  
  
When it was just the two of them Maggie began to open up to Jesse more and more. And he was falling more and more in love with her. He found himself bringing her flowers all the time, and took her out to dinner (modest home cooking by_ Chez Traveez_), most nights. They still went out with their other friends, but now they found excuses to wander off on their own._

_._

_ Three months after their first date, Maggie's parents invited them out to their ranch in Texas for Christmas. The night before their flight out, Jesse and Maggie joined everyone else for a Christmas parade they were all to be elves on a Santa Claus float. Jesse donned his elf hat, grinning at Maggie, and making the pointed ears wiggle.  
  
At the end of the parade route, after they had given out every last candy cane on the float, Jesse pulled Maggie aside. They were standing near a large plastic igloo, with mechanical penguins spinning around them. A machine was blowing fake snow up in the air. Jesse held Maggie's hand and got down next to her on one knee.  
  
"Maggie, three months ago, you captivated me with your smile. And then you let me see the real you, and I fell in love. I know that three months isn't a very long time, but I want to ask you to be my bride. Maggie Montgomery, will you marry me?"  
  
Maggie had tears in her eyes as she whispered 'yes.' Jesse slid a ring onto her finger and she held it with her other hand.  
  
"It's beautiful," she whispered, slipping her arms around him. "I love you too."  
  
Maggie's parents shared their joy, and helped them arrange a simple wedding at the ranch the next February. Ian Ritodowski was Jesse's best man, and Paige, Nick, and Annie were also at the Valentine's Day wedding.  
  
Back in L.A., Jesse and Maggie found themselves a tiny apartment, which consisted of one tiny bedroom, a cubicle-sized kitchen connected to a miniscule living room, and the bathroom. The shower stall was about as big as a casket, and the kitchen table folded out of the wall to save space, but they didn't complain. Their love made it seem like a mansion. _

_._

_May 17, 1992 Jesse glanced over at Maggie, who was asleep beside him. Then he looked back to his alarm clock. It read 2:56 a.m. Jesse sighed. He found it very hard to sleep, knowing that it could happen any second. Fifteen minutes later he was shook awake by his wife.  
  
Twenty minutes later, Maggie and Jesse were at the hospital. At 8:00 sharp, Maggie gave birth to a baby girl, whom they called Carley Anne.  
  
"She's perfect," Maggie whispered when she and Jesse were alone. The doctor had ordered her to get some rest, and a nurse had taken Carley to the nursery. Jesse had pulled a chair over to the side of the bed. Maggie scooted over to the other side of the bed, and patted the sheets beside her. Jesse climbed up and sat down nest to her, and they both fell asleep, elated about the baby girl that they had just brought into the world.  
  
Two days later, Annie, Nick, Paige, and Ian crowded into the hospital room to see Baby Carley. She had inherited her mother's red curls, and her father's smile. Maggie showed her friends all of Carley's perfect little fingers and toes, each of which had a tiny little fingernail.  
  
"She's perfect," Ian said with a smile, looking down at the baby in Paige's arms. Jesse hovered around whomever was holding Carley, watching his baby like a hawk.  
  
"You know, Maggie, I don't know how you two can stand it in that tiny apartment," Nick said. "I helped Jesse put up the crib this morning, and now you can't walk around the left side of your bed."  
  
"I know. I'll have to climb over to get to the closet," she said with a smile. "Paige, you'd better give Carley over to Jesse before he has a heart attack."  
  
Laughter rang around the small room, as Paige handed the baby to her father. Jesse grinned and sat down in a chair next to Maggie.  
  
"Don't you all have class?" she asked, glancing at the clock on the wall.  
  
"Yes, we do," Nick said, kissing her cheek. "Time to go, Jesse."  
  
"Aw, do I have ta go to school today?" Jesse said in a baby voice. "I want to stay home and play."  
  
"You can come back later, Honey, after your final exam," Maggie said with a smile. "Now let me have the baby."  
  
"You just want her to yourself," Jesse said with a grin.  
  
"You've got that right," Maggie said, kissing her husband. "I love you." Jesse turned and followed the others out, glancing back at his wife and daughter. Life, for him, was perfect.  
  
While Maggie and Jesse were at school, their neighbor, Mrs. Lewis watched Carley. She was a retired home daycare provider, and a happy volunteer to keep the baby.  
  
As she grew, Carley knew all of her parent's friends, calling them her aunts and uncles. At two years old, she loved to have them come over for a 'study party' with her parents, although her participation was barred to watching a Barney video in the living room. _

_._

_Carley's third birthday dawned bright and clear. Jesse and Maggie had finally broke down and found themselves a bigger apartment. Now it was decorated for Carley's 'Wizard of Oz' birthday party. Blue and white crepe paper hung from the ceiling, and Maggie had made a cake with a small plastic 'Dorothy' toy on top. Jesse had made a yellow brick road by sponging bricks on a roll of paper like doctors use on their exam tables.  
  
There was only one problem, and that was Jesse's classes. Carley's new babysitter had not been able to watch her the week before, so Jesse had to miss a very important exam. The only day that he could make it up was Carley's birthday.  
  
"Good morning, Daddy," Carley said, as Jesse leaned over her bed to give her a kiss.  
  
"Morning, baby. I didn't want to wake you up," Jesse said with a smile.  
  
"Well, now I'm up! And it's my birthday!" the girl said, bouncing on the bed.  
  
"Yes it is, Sweet girl. Listen, Daddy has to go to school and take a test now."  
  
"Will you be home in time for my party?" Carley asked. She had stopped bouncing and climbed onto her father's lap.  
  
"Of course I will. Now, Birthday girl, Mumma made you breakfast," Jesse stood up and carried Carley into the kitchen.  
  
"There's a yellow-brick road in our house," she said, giggling with joy. Jesse handed Carley to his mother and gathered his books.  
  
"I'll be back later," he said to Maggie, kissing her. He bent over his daughter and kissed the top of her head. She turned and stood on her chair, hugging her father's neck, and leaving a wet, sticky kiss on his cheek. "I love my girls," Jesse said just before he closed the door, watching Maggie as she wiped Carley's face and listened to the girl's endless chatter.  
  
On his way home, Jesse picked up three helium balloons, each of which said "Happy Birthday!" on its side. When he pulled into his parking spot, an ambulance was pulling away from the building. Panic set in on Jesse, and he dashed up the stairs to his apartment, hoping that he would find his girls exactly as he left them.  
  
The door to his apartment was open. Annie and Paige were sitting on the couch, tears in their eyes, looking away from the dining room. Nick was standing nearby, his head leaning on his arm, which was resting on top of the TV hutch. Jesse's heart leaped when he saw the blood on the dining room rug.  
  
"What happened?" he yelled.  
  
"Mr. Travis, I'm Detective Claire Van Sickle, from the L.A.P.D. Your wife and daughter have been shot. They are on their way to Community General Hospital."  
  
Jesse didn't hear anything else, he just jumped into his secondhand car and sped all the way to the hospital. There, he was sent to the waiting room. He had been informed that Maggie was going into surgery when he arrived. They hadn't said anything about Carley, and Jesse didn't know whether to take that as a good sign or a bad sign.  
  
The tiles on the floor were almost abraded from the path that Jesse was pacing. Nick, Annie, and Paige wanted to help him, but there was nothing they could say or do to get him to sit down. Inside, they were each wondering what had happened to Ian Ritodowski, for he never showed up for Carley's party.  
  
Three hours after he arrived at the hospital, a doctor finally cane over to Jesse. He introduced himself as Dr. Jack Stewart.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said, "But we lost them."  
  
Jesse leaned against the wall and sunk down until he was hugging his knees. He put his head down, crying too hard to look up at anyone.  
  
Dr. Stewart looked around, unsure. He never knew how to comfort with the grieving families. Annie got on her knees, and put her arms around Jesse. Her eyes were filled with tears. She had never imagined losing her childhood best friend. To a cold-blooded killer.  
  
Paige was crying steadily in her seat and Nick put an arm around her shoulders. _

__

* * *

"Detective Van Sickle arrested Ian Ritodowski," Jesse said to his friends.  
  
"Your best friend? What was his motive?" Amanda queried.  
  
"He was jealous of me," Jesse said, looking down. "He snapped and killed Maggie and Carley."  
  
"Did he ever confess?" Mark asked.  
  
"No, but Detective Van Sickle showed me all kinds of evidence against him."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"He was convicted, and sent to jail. I took all the stuff from the apartment and put it in a storage shed so I could start over. I got a new apartment, new furniture, and, in December when I came to Community General, I got new friends."  
  
"Did you say Claire Van Sickle?" Steve asked. Jesse nodded.  
  
"Is she the one who tried to prosecute Mark for killing Ernie Pitt?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Yes she is," Mark answered. Then her turned back to Steve. "What are you thinking, Son?"  
  
"Maybe I should give Claire a call and find out the specifics of the case."  
  
"Can you do that?" Susan asked.  
  
"Sure. Van Sickle owes me a few favors," Steve replied.  
  
"I could tell you what I know. I even have a case file lying around somewhere," Jesse offered.  
  
"Jesse, there's no reason that you should have to relive this over and over again," Amanda said softly.  
  
"If it means putting the man who killed my daughter back behind bars, I'll do anything."  
  
"Maybe we should call it a night," Amanda said. "We can talk some more tomorrow." She put a hand on Jesse's shoulder. "Try to get some sleep, okay?"  
  
Jesse nodded to Amanda and gave her a small smile. She went out in the storm and ran to her car.  
  
"Amanda has to get back to her kids, but you two are welcome to spend the night here if you want," Mark said. "It's storming pretty badly."  
  
"Thanks, Mark, that would be great," Susan said. She went to help Mark make up the guest bed, and Steve went downstairs. Mark brought Jesse a glass of milk, which he and Susan had slipped a sleeping pill into. They felt guilty doing it, but Jesse needed a good night's sleep before he talked any more about Maggie and Carley.


	4. Memories and Secrets

**Disclaimer-** See chapter 1.  
  
**Bringing Up Memories  
  
** **Chapter 4-** Memories and Secrets  
  
Susan awoke early the next morning. Instead of finding the sleeping form of her husband beside her, all that was in his place was cold sheets. She got up, and pulled on the old robe that Mark had lent her.  
  
Jesse pulled the next photo album out of the box. It was pink, and titled "Princess Carley." Jesse smiled as he turned through the pages that held the pictures of Maggie while she was pregnant, and then the snapshots Nick Murphy had taken at the birth. There were pictures of Carley's first day home and her first steps, Carley eating, playing with her doll, fixing Maggie's hair. Carley at the Zoo, Carley at the beach. And Jesse could remember the day each one was taken perfectly.  
  
When he got to the last page, he found a picture that he had helped Carley draw the day before her birthday. It was of her whole family, including all of her "aunts and uncles."  
  
Jesse had labeled each person for her, and proudly hung it on the refrigerator to show Maggie later. Jesse held the picture and looked at it for a few moments. Susan came into the living room and sat down beside Jesse on the couch.  
  
"She was quite an artist," she whispered.  
  
"Carley drew this for me the day before she died," he said, with a smile. "After I helped her hang it on the refrigerator, I gave her a bath and helped her get ready for bed. I would read to her. She got to pick the book, and we read a chapter each night. That night we were reading 'The Wizard of Oz.' Carley was a Wizard of Oz nut. She loved it. I probably could quote the movie to you right now if I wanted.

"We had just finished the last chapter..." Jesse's voice broke, and he paused before going on. "For her birthday I bought her a new restored copy of the movie, 'cause her old one was something her grandmother taped off of TV, and it had all these commercials and stuff. I had given it to her before I went to take my test. When I got home, it was still running on the VCR." Susan anticipated that he would cry again, so she put her hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Have you eaten anything?" she asked quietly. She could hear Mark coming out of his bedroom. He came down the hall.  
  
"Good Morning, Jesse, Susan," he said. Jesse glared groggily at him.  
  
"You tricked me," he said. "Again."  
  
"I'm sorry," Mark said guiltily. He hadn't wanted to bring up old memories. Especially these old memories. "Let me make it up to you. Breakfast will be ready in twenty minutes or so."  
  
Jesse did look cheered. No one had ever known him to pass up food. Susan, Mark, and the newly awakened Steve made Jesse eat before he could start going through the boxes again. While Jesse was chugging a glass of orange juice, the doorbell rang and Amanda came in.  
  
"Morning, everyone," she said cheerfully. "Jesse, I was at the hospital this morning, and Nick Murphy was looking for you. He said it had something to do with Ian Ritodowski." Jesse put down his fork and pushed his plate away.  
  
"I'm not hungry," he said, standing up. The others followed, and watched as Jesse reached into a box. He smiled when he pulled out a shoebox full of pictures that Carley had drawn. Putting them aside to look at later, Jesse handed Amanda two file folders. "This is what Ian Ritodowski did to my family. I never want to see him again." Amanda picked up the top folder and opened it. She closed her eyes and passed it to Steve. He looked inside and saw a picture of the murder scene after the bodies had been removed. The TV was still playing a movie, and Carley's crayons were scattered across the floor.  
  
Amanda looked down at the floor. Suddenly she remembered the case. She turned and walked out on the deck. Jesse was showing Susan various things that had belonged to his daughter, but Susan, Mark, and Steve shared a look. Steve turned and followed her out.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked uncertainly, placing his hand on her shoulder.  
  
"No, I'm not. Not right now. Steve, I remember the case. I remember doing an autopsy on a woman named Maggie Travis. She died from a single gunshot wound to the chest."  
  
"Wow," Steve said, not knowing what else to say.  
  
"I feel terrible that I didn't remember until now," Amanda said.  
  
"That's not your fault."  
  
"Yes, it is. Jack told me that he was moving that day."  
  
"You knew that he was leaving?"  
  
"Yes. Jack said he wanted me to know. But that's not important right now. I was upset, and the autopsy just made the day worse. Steve, I found out something that even Jesse doesn't know. I remember collaborating with Detective Van Sickle. She thought that until the husband was emotionally stable, that we should keep it between us."  
  
"What, Amanda?" Steve asked curiously.  
  
"Maggie was pregnant when she died," Amanda said, sinking into a chair. Steve sat down beside her, surprised.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked gently.  
  
"I'm fine," Amanda said miserably, "It's Jesse I'm worried about. How can I tell him that?" She put her head in her hands and sat for a minute.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Amanda. If it comes down to that, we'll ask Dad what to do."  
  
"Steve?" Amanda asked, sitting up. "Who did Jesse say was Maggie's doctor at the hospital?"  
  
"He said Dr. Stewart," Steve said, catching on.  
  
"Do you think it's our Doctor Stewart? I mean, there were three other Stewarts at Community General."  
  
"It's possible," Steve said. "Maybe you should give him a call."  
  
"Maybe you should do it," Amanda said nervously.  
  
"I'm going to see if I can find Claire Van Sickle," Steve said. Amanda's look did not change. "Look, I'll call him when I get home, okay?"  
  
"Yep," Amanda said, giving Steve a hug. "But listen, as much as I'd like to see Jack again, I don't know if now is the time for him to come visit. I don't want Jesse to feel left out or something."  
  
"That's a given," Steve said, going inside. He told Jesse where he was going and picked up the case files. "Can I borrow these in case Claire's mind needs jogging?"  
  
"Sure, and thanks, Steve," Jesse said. After the cop left, Jesse pulled one of the boxes over to the couch. Amanda, Mark, and Susan each sat nearby, unsure of what to do. "You know, y'all don't have to sit and stare at me. I don't mind if you help."  
  
"Are you sure?" Susan asked.  
  
"Yeah. I'm not really looking for anything specific. Just memories." Mark, Amanda, and Susan took various seats around the room and began to search through the boxes. Although Jesse was not looking for anything, Mark was sure that if he nosed around enough he would find a clue that would help solve the mystery one way or another.  
  
"Jesse, why did you cut yourself off from your old friends?" Amanda asked.  
  
"I really didn't mean to. At first I just wanted some space, you know, room to breathe. Then when we all came to Community General, I got really busy being Mark's trainee and I just lost touch." "I hear they've all done really well. Nick Murphy is an excellent cardiologist. And Annie Johnson is in ICU. Paige Sullivan is a very good private nurse. I've had patients who adored her," Mark added.  
  
"Paige took it really hard," Jesse said, picking up a doll. "She was mad at me because she didn't think Ian was the murderer. But Detective Van Sickle thought so enough to arrest him."  
  
"This is such a beautiful picture, Jess," Amanda said holding up a large framed photograph of Jesse, Maggie, and Carley.  
  
"It was our Christmas picture in 1992," Jesse noted. "Maggie spent hours on Carley's hair. Every time she'd get the little baby headband on Carley took it off and threw it. She finally ended up with those flowery hairclips."  
  
Jesse showed them through the photo albums, explaining each picture. Carley was always a smiling little bundle of energy. Many of the pictures had Ian Ritodowski in them. Then Amanda uncovered a box of home videos. Jesse smiled as he watched the different tapes. There was one of Carley and Jesse, when he was teaching her how to swim. They were at a pool, and Carley's feet were planted firmly on the edge.  
  
"Come on, Baby-Girl, Daddy will catch you!" Jesse had called. Carley looked at him for a few minutes. Maggie's voice was heard from behind the camera.  
  
"It's okay Carley. Go on, Sweetie." Carley look encouraged, and suddenly splashed into Jesse's waiting arms. The tape changed to a day at the zoo. Jesse must have been taping, because Carley was seen, pulling Maggie's hand over to the monkey island.  
  
"They're just like the ones on 'The Wizard of Oz' Daddy!" she cried. The camera shifted into someone else's hands, because Jesse ran out from behind it, and picked her up, lifting her above his head.  
  
"The ones who took Dorothy and flew her out to the Wicked Witch's castle?" he asked, spinning in a circle. Carley was shouting, and laughing.  
  
"Daddy, you big monkey! I don't want to see the Wicked Witch. I just want to look at the monkeys!"  
  
Another tape revealed Carley's first birthday. Jesse and Maggie had taped the entire day, starting when they woke the baby up, and ending with her good-night lullaby.  
  
"Maggie's parents hadn't met Carley yet, and we sent them this tape," Jesse explained.  
  
"Jess, you had a beautiful family," Mark observed a few hours later. He had been watching Susan, looking for signs of her discomfort. But if she was feeling any, she didn't show it. She just looked sympathetic, but happy that Jesse was laughing and smiling at the memories.  
  
"Jesse, you really don't know that Ian did this, do you?" she asked. "I mean, look at him. He's holding Carley in at least half of these pictures. And that video you showed us..."  
  
"I really didn't think he was capable of it."  
  
"I think I'm going to have a talk with Nick Murphy. Maybe he can be insightful," Mark said, closing the photo album on his lap. "You guys don't have to leave. Just make yourselves comfortable. If Steve asks, I'm at the hospital."  
  
"See ya later," Jesse said cheerfully.  
  
"You seem happier," Amanda said. Jesse nodded.  
  
"I'd forgotten how much I loved Carley," he said. "It's so good to hear her voice."  
  
"How about some lunch?" Amanda asked. "I'll see what Mark has in the kitchen."  
  
"I'll help you," Susan offered.  
  
"Word of advice," Jesse said as they were leaving the room.  
  
"What?" Susan asked.  
  
"Raid Steve's refrigerator. There's better junk food in there. With Mark you never know what breed of fish heads you'll find."


	5. Nosin' Around

** A/N:** To Clark Kent's Girl- The photo album in Chapter 2 which reads "Maggie: 1986-1990" would have to have been before she met Jesse. So I must have had brain-flatulence when I was writing that part. It should say 1991- 1995, I guess.  
  
** Disclaimer-** See chapter 1.  
  
** Bringing Up Memories  
  
Chapter 5-** Nosin' Around  
  
Claire Van Sickle was highly un-helpful to Steve. She didn't have much to say that he didn't already know, and the evidence against Ian Ritodowski was pretty flimsy. It looked like an obvious frame to Steve, but he didn't mention that to the other detective. He just went down to the archives to retrieve Claire's case files.  
  
Steve hated digging around in the precinct basement. He hated it with a passion. Not only was it dark and dirty, but very humid. Steve was sticky before he even got down all of the stairs. When he finally found the right mislabeled box, he was dismayed to see that most of the files were growing mold. Luckily, though, the "Tra-" section was the least damaged, and the files on Maggie and Carley were completely intact.  
  
Soon he was back at his desk in the nice, cool, air-conditioned part of the building, looking through the papers. He glanced through statements from Nick, Annie, and Paige, taken at the crime scene.  
  
Steve decided that the most logical move to make would be to investigate anyone who was close to Maggie. But, according to Captain Woodruff, who had no friends or children of his own, Steve's other cases greatly preceded this one in importance. So Steve began to investigate an obvious suicide and an accidental shooting/car crash.  
  
.....  
  
Mark entered Nick Murphy's office wearing a lab coat. He looked around at the framed degrees and something caught his eye. Nick Murphy had enlarged and framed the group photo from his medical school days, and it hung behind his desk. A plaque underneath read: "To Maggie Montgomery-Travis and Carley Travis. You are always in our minds and in our hearts. I dedicate my practice to you." Mark smiled at the tribute and sat down to wait for the doctor. It wasn't long before Nick came in.  
  
"You wanted to see me, Dr. Sloan?" he asked, stashing a pen in his pocket.  
  
"I'm helping Jesse Travis investigate the deaths of his wife and daughter. He told me that you used to be friends, and I thought that maybe you could help."  
  
"I'll do anything you need. Please, take a seat," Nick said, pointing towards a chair. He sat down behind his desk before he continued. "Jesse and I used to be very good friends, but when Maggie and Carley died he fell apart. He was just devastated. For awhile he thought about just giving up medical school, and opening a flower shop like his cousin Morty. We tried to reach him, but it was all we could do to convince him to stay here," Nick said sadly, remembering that painful time.  
  
"Jesse told me that Ian Ritodowski was the last person he had thought would kill Maggie," Mark said, probing for signs of emotion, although he now greatly doubted that Nick Murphy was a suspect.  
  
"Ian was like a brother to Jesse. And he was very close to Carley. I never saw it coming. In fact, I was never entirely convinced that he was the killer."  
  
"What happened to the rest of you after the trial?"  
  
"Well, Annie Johnson and I were married three years ago. She's on maternity leave, but normally she works in intensive care," Nick began.  
  
"Congratulations," Mark said.  
  
"Thank you. Paige Sullivan was hysterical when Ian was sent to jail. She kept insisting that he was wrongfully incarcerated. She dropped out of the classes she was taking and became a private nurse. She's around the hospital a lot to pick up patients or their medications."  
  
"Do you have any idea who might have wanted to kill Maggie?"  
  
"No," Nick said with a sigh. "To know Maggie was to love her. And Carley was irresistible. She usually had that same mischievous look that Jesse used to get."  
  
"I know the one," Mark said with a laugh. A nurse knocked on the door.  
  
"Dr. Martin, they're ready for you in surgery," she said, leaving as suddenly as she came.  
  
"Well, I'll let you go," Mark said with a smile. Then he handed Nick his business card. "If you think of anything else that might help, just give me a call."  
  
"Sure thing, Dr. Sloan. I'll talk to Annie too, see if she remembers anything that I don't," Nick offered.  
  
"That would be great," Mark said, leaving Dr. Murphy to prepare for the heart valve replacement procedure.  
  
.....  
  
Steve glanced at the case folder sitting underneath his other files. His hand itched to pick it up, to help Jesse, but Captain Woodruff kept glancing towards him, checking to make sure that the detective was staying on task.  
  
But much to Steve's surprise and some towards the relief of his itch, Steve found reason in one of his cases to call Colorado. One of the victims of a shooting had visited Jack Stewart at his clinic several weeks ago.  
  
Steve picked up the phone and got out a pen. He was pleased to have found a way to both please and defy his captain at the same time.  
  
Fifteen minutes later Steve had greeted Jack, gotten past the awkwardness of the years, and gathered all the information he needed on the Hellman- Drisco Shooting. He then tactfully turned the conversation to Maggie Travis.  
  
"Jack, do you remember treating a woman named Maggie Montgomery? It would have been just before you left, and she was brought in with a gu-"  
  
"A gunshot wound to the chest," Jack interrupted. "Yeah, I remember that case. It was really tough. We lost the woman, and I had to tell her husband. He took it really hard. What makes you ask about that anyways, it's like, ancient history."  
  
"Well, maybe to you, but Jesse Travis, the husband, is a friend of mine. The case was reopened the other day, and, well, Dad..."  
  
"Is poking around where he doesn't belong, right?" Jack finished with a laugh.  
  
"Yes, and so am I," Steve said.  
  
"Like father, like son," Jack said. "Listen, I'd be glad to help you out. Just tell me what you need to know."  
  
.....  
  
Steve returned home to find that Jesse had reloaded most of his boxes to his car. Mark was fixing supper, with Amanda's help. Steve pulled her aside and told her about the phone call that he had made earlier.  
  
"Did Jack say anything... Well, about..." Amanda began. She wasn't looking at Steve, but out the window and across the beach.  
  
"About you?" Steve finished. Amanda nodded. "Yes. He said he misses you, and that he wants you to call him when this is all over, because he's overdue for a visit."  
  
Amanda's smile grew, and Steve followed her back into the kitchen to help with dinner. He didn't like to cook, and there was nothing like over- microwaving barbeque sauce to get him out of it.  
  
.....  
  
Monday afternoon, after an especially hectic morning, Jesse was ready for lunch. He dragged himself to the cafeteria, purchased a sandwich and a soda, and looked for his wife to sit down. Before he reached Susan, however, Jesse saw Paige Sullivan draining a Styrofoam cup of hospital coffee, and reading a book. He decided to make amends, and there was no time like the present.  
  
"Hi, Paige," he said, sitting down.  
  
"Excuse me?" she asked, looking at Jesse like he was from outer space.  
  
"Paige, what's up?"  
  
"I think you have me mistaken for someone else. I'm Chrissy Thomas."  
  
"Chrissy Thomas?" Jesse asked.  
  
"Yes, and I'd appreciate it if you left me alone," she said, gathering her book and walking away. Jesse was still looking perplexed when Nick Murphy came over.  
  
"What was that all about?"  
  
"You don't know?" Nick asked. Jesse shook his head.  
  
"Obviously not."  
  
"Jess, Paige had Dissociative Identity Disorder."  
  
"Multiple personalities," Jesse echoed.  
  
"Yeah, she's had it since she was a little girl. I've known her as Helen Feldman, Chrissy Thomas, Simone Heller, and Madeline Davis."  
  
"Five personalities?" Jesse asked. If he had been confused before, now it was only getting worse.  
  
"Yes. Her mother said that she was beaten by her stepfather, and she was traumatized so badly that her Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome developed into Dissociative Identity Disorder." Jesse nodded and glanced back to where Paige had just left from.  
  
"So, how are you doing?" Nick asked him. "All of this can't be easy on you."  
  
"I'm gonna be alright. My wife, Susan Hilliard, is so great about this."  
  
"Susan Hilliard the nurse?"  
  
"Yeah, do you know her?"  
  
"No, but Annie worked with her a couple of years ago when she was transferred to the ICU. Annie said that Susan was great during the Shannon Murphy case."  
  
"So, how is Annie, anyways?" Jesse asked curiously.  
  
"She's fine. Tired mostly. She gave birth to our daughter this morning," Nick explained, grinning at Jesse.  
  
"Hey that's great, Congratulations," Jesse said, offering his friend a hug. "So, what's the lucky girl's name?"  
  
"Well, we wanted to talk to you about that, Jess." Nick hesitated. "We want to call her Maggie." Jesse's eyes misted over.  
  
"I think that's a wonderful idea." 


	6. A Red Flag for Mark

**Disclaimer-** See chapter 1.  
  
**Bringing Up Memories  
**  
**Chapter 6-** A Red Flag for Mark  
  
"Jesse!" Annie said, excited to see her old friend.  
  
"Hi, Annie," Jesse greeted her, bending down to hug her. "How are you?"  
  
"Tired," she smiled. "But so happy."  
  
"That's what Nick said. Annie, look, I have to apologize for the way that I behaved after the murders."  
  
"No. No you don't, Jesse," Annie said, "We understand."  
  
"Well look at what I missed while I was being so stubborn. A romance, a wedding, a baby," he countered.  
  
"You haven't completely lost out, Jesse. I hear that you've married Nurse Hilliard. And you befriended Dr. Sloan. I keep seeing your name in the paper. 'Dr. Mark Sloan and his team solve another mystery!' And then, of course, there are the hospital gossip-hounds. You don't want to know what they all have to say about you," Annie said. Jesse pulled a chair beside the bed and sat down.  
  
"I don't think Ian did it anymore," Jesse whispered.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because of Paige's disorder. I used to catch her sometimes, staring at me, like a teenager with a crush. I never understood it until now. It was another personality. I think that one of the 'By-Paige-es' killed Maggie, and Carley, out of jealousy."  
  
"I don't know, Jess. Where's your evidence?" Annie asked skeptically.  
  
"I don't know yet, but if it's even probable, Mark Sloan is already on it, and that's good enough for me." Jesse said confidently. He stood up and patted Annie's arm. "Now you rest. It's almost ten-thirty. I'll come back in the morning to meet little Maggie Murphy."  
  
.....  
  
Mark was upset. Ever since Jesse had told him of Paige Sullivan's Dissociative Identity Disorder, different scenarios had been playing in his head. Steve also agreed that Paige was looking more and more guilty.  
  
"I told Detective Van Sickle what Jesse told me, and she searched Paige's house earlier. She found a diary kept by Paige, and in it she would change personalities. I got a look at it. Each personality has a different tone, and different handwriting. They all contradict each other. Something like one is happy about the little girl she adopted, and one knows a secret she won't share. The most disturbing part is that one personality still goes on about Jesse. She wrote pages of fantasies about him."  
  
"So one personality, say Simone, the one with the crush, goes in, kills Maggie and Carley, and the she reverts back to Paige, who either didn't know what happened or was terrified to death," Mark said, playing through it. "What did you say about adoption?"  
  
"Oh, Paige adopted a little girl, Grace, a few days after the murders."  
  
"Alright, well, how did Paige get in and out of the apartment without anyone seeing?"  
  
"Well, she was there for a birthday party," Steve said. "I doubt that Maggie would have turned her away."  
  
"Okay, but none of the neighbors saw anyone come in or out," Mark said.  
  
"This is getting us nowhere," Steve said. "Why don't you sleep on it?"  
  
"No, I think I've got it," Mark said. He turned and left Steve standing in the hospital lobby by himself. His dad always took a sickening amount of pleasure from keeping him completely lost. Instead of following Mark, Steve just turned and went to his car. _I'm going to bed_, he thought, coasting out of the parking garage.


	7. To the Past, and to the Future

**Disclaimer-** See chapter 1.  
  
**Bringing Up Memories  
Chapter 7-** To the Past, and to the Future  
  
Steve had told Jesse of his father's strange, yet customary, behavior the night before. He had spoken to Mark, but he walked away muttering something about influenza inoculations. Amanda had brushed past Jesse in much the same manner as Mark, although she didn't know what track his mind was on any more that Steve did. Now he had caught up with Steve.  
  
"Steve!" Jesse said. "What's going on? I know there's a development in the case, but Mark won't say anything."  
  
"Jess, I can't tell you yet. Just tell my dad to call me when the results of the forensics test are in," Steve said calmly.  
  
"Steve, this is my wife, daughter, and baby. I need to know what is going on," Jesse said.  
  
"So Amanda told you, huh," Steve said.  
  
"Yeah, she did. Maggie was pregnant. But I'm fine, Steve. I just need to know what's happening," Jesse repeated.  
  
"I promise, as soon as I know something, I'll tell you." Jesse sighed, but nodded at Steve's proposal, and responded to a page for him to go to the E.R. As Jesse left, Mark walked up and greeted his son.  
  
"Mark!" Amanda called form down the hall. Both men turned to her, waiting to hear what she had to say. "I ran that DNA through the computer, and they match up fifty percent. So, would you mind telling me what's going on now?"  
  
"Soon, soon," Mark said, starting to walk away.  
  
"Where are you going now?" Steve asked.  
  
"I'm going to convey my congratulations to two new parents," he said.  
  
.....  
  
Nick Murphy sat with his wife and daughter. Paige Sullivan was visiting them, cooing over Baby Maggie.  
  
"I wish I had one of these," she said with a grin.  
  
"Actually, according to the police, you already do. When were you going to tell us about that?" Nick said.  
  
"It's not a big deal," Paige returned. She then changed the subject. "So how is the case coming? Have you heard anything new?"  
  
"Yes, actually, Dr. Sloan was here this morning. He said the police know who killed Maggie and Carley," Annie said.  
  
"He didn't tell us much, except that Ian Ritodowski had a safety deposit box. Only he didn't open it until three days after he went to prison. So I guess now the police are going to go get whatever's in it. Then they can arrest whoever started this nightmare, and we can get on with our lives."  
  
Paige left about fifteen minutes later, claiming that she had to pick up Mrs. Waverly and take her home. But her destination was in a different direction from Mrs. Waverly's room.

.....  
  
Simone Heller slammed down the telephone in disgust. That was the last time she asked Mitch Sullivan for help. He was just too stubborn. Now she was parked outside a bank, ready to go in. She told the clerk that she was Simone Ritodowski, and that her husband had authorized her to get into the box. She held up the key and a note. The clerk matched the signature on the note to Ian Ritodowski's, and he led Simone to a small room. She sat on the edge of the table, waiting for the box. When the clerk brought it in, Simone eagerly pushed the key into the hole. She opened the box to see its four bare sides.  
  
"Looking for this?" a voice asked from behind. Mark walked over and handed her a diary. "This diary details every move you and you accomplices made during the murder. A little messy, don't you think?"  
  
Simone snatched the diary and ran towards the door. Her passage was blocked by Steve, and he led her back into the room by her arm. While they were walking, Paige's demeanor changed, and she looked around, suddenly scared of what she was seeing. She hung her head when Jesse followed Steve into the room. He looked between Mark and Steve, and back at Paige.  
  
"You snuck into the Travis' apartment when you knew Jesse wouldn't be home. Then you killed Maggie, knocked Carley out, and shot her as well. Then you climbed down the fire escape, knowing full well that someone would come to investigate the shots. Then you went around the block to your car, and drove back to the apartment just in time for the party. Your plan worked perfectly. Someone else took the rap for your crime."  
  
"But then it backfired when her fiancé went to jail," Jesse said. For once he was actually following along.  
  
"Then she figured out a way to get Ian out of jail," Steve continued. "She left a briefcase at the precinct with enough evidence to free Ian, but enough was missing to keep herself from being incarcerated."  
  
"That is, until Mark Sloan got on the case," Jesse finished. Steve nodded.  
  
"Paige Sullivan, Chrissy Thomas, Simone Heller, or Madeline Davis, you are under arrest for the murder of Maggie Montgomery-Travis," he said, a satisfied tone in his voice. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney then one will be provided for you free of charge..."  
  
"What about Carley?" Jesse asked as two uniform officers led Steve away. "She killed her too."  
  
"That's where you're wrong," Mark said. "Paige didn't kill Carley, she never intended to. When the ambulance got to Community General her brother, Doctor Mitch Sullivan, took care of Carley. They let everyone think that she was dead, and then had another pathologist, a Dr. Gregory Plummer, take care of the phony autopsy. Then Paige let you think that Carley's body was in the casket, and took her to raise as her own. She was so little she probably didn't remember any of it."  
  
"I met little Grace Sullivan," Steve added. "And she remembers her real parents very well."  
  
"Daddy?" a voice called from the doorway. Jesse turned around. Amanda and Susan were standing with a little redheaded girl between them.  
  
"Carley?" Jesse asked, choking. She ran into his arms, and cried the tears that had never fallen.  
  
.....  
  
Later that week, after the arraignment, everyone was celebrating with dinner at Barbeque Bob's. Jesse and Carley were together again, and Maggie's killer was going to get some very much overdue help.  
  
"So, Carley, how do you like being back with your dad?" Steve asked. The girl looked up at him and flashed the same impish smile, looking exactly like her father.  
  
"I _love _it. I have to say I never remembered him until you asked me, but whenever Aunt Paige would forget who she was I felt very calm. And I used to dream about a man that I didn't recognize, yet I knew him. Now I know who that was." The words that she had spoken earned Carley another hug from her father. "Uncle Steve," she continued, preparing to dodge her father's playful cuff. "Has my dad always been this short?"  
  
.....  
  
"Mark, I don't know how to thank you," Jesse said later. "I mean, you've bee on cases that I've had personal interest in, but none of them were more controversial to me that this one."  
  
"I know one way that you can thank me," Mark said. "Unpack Maggie from that storage shed. Put out some pictures of her. Let the memory live on in the light."  
  
"You've got it," Jesse said. "As long as Susan doesn't mind."  
  
"How could I mind? Especially not that Carley is living with us," Susan said with a smile, tousling her stepdaughter's hair.  
  
"So what are your plans now?" Nick asked.  
  
"I don't really know. Next weekend Carley and I are going to fly out to Texas and visit her mother's grave."  
  
"I think that's a good idea," Ian said, making his first contribution to any conversation that had taken place that evening.  
  
"Ian, I am so sorry. I really thought that you had killed them."  
  
"No, I couldn't have. I love Carley like she's my own." Now it was his turn to ruffle the twelve-year-old's hair.  
  
"That just made it more painful for Jesse. He couldn't believe that someone that close to Carley could kill her," Annie said.  
  
"Detective Van Sickle was so sure that you were the one who killed Maggie, that I'm not sure she stopped to think about other possibilities."  
  
"Detective Van Sickle once found me _leaning _over the body of my accountant, Ernie Pitt. I was being audited, and Mr. Pitt was supposed to meet me in my office to explain his 'creative accounting' to the IRS agent. When he didn't show up, I went to his office, but he was already dead, so I leaned over his body to check his pulse, and that's when she found me. She claimed that I was hovering. The woman doesn't know a lean when she sees one."  
  
"I remember that. Detective Van Sickle was looking for you, so Jack Stewart smuggled you out of the hospital in a body bag," Amanda added with a smile. "Then when Steve couldn't find you he followed me and Jack around, knowing sooner or later we'd lead him right to you."  
  
"Yes, Dad has a tendency to be found at murder scenes, _leaning _over the bodies," Steve said with a laugh.  
  
.....  
  
"Ian, I just want you to know that everything's square." Jesse said as he was cleaning up tables. It was late, and Carley was napping on a bench, covered in several eagerly volunteered jackets.  
  
"Jess, there's nothing to forgive. You were not wrong to be mad at me. Maggie and Carley meant the world to you. I'm sorry Paige took that."  
  
"How about a picture?" Susan said, holding up her camera and four lab coats. Ian, Jesse, Nick and Annie put on the jackets and stood together in a row. Jesse jumped out of formation, and grabbed a photo frame from behind the cash register.  
  
"Okay, I'm ready." Susan snapped the picture, and the faces of Nick Murphy, Annie Johnson, Ian Ritodowski, Jesse Travis, and Maggie Montgomery smiled back at her.  
  
It was getting late, so Jesse bent over his daughter and lifted her into his arms, carrying her out to the car. Susan smiled with a smile, knowing that in about eight months Jesse's joy would be doubled with the birth of the child that was growing inside her.  
  
** The End**


End file.
